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I am considering a move from Colorado to somewhere in the midwest, south, or southeast in 2014. North Carolina is one of the states I am researching. I will be working in Mental Health, and will be renting for at least a couple of years before I buy. I am looking for a small town feel, the best rural areas in North Carolina to start researching. No children, but would like a decent quality of living. By "decent" I mean, clean neighborhood, low crime (don't we all want NO crime!?), and relatively quiet.
How is the "pet-friendly" housing situation in NC? I have a border collie and a cat, and would prefer to rent a house with a yard. I also aspire to owning alpaca in the next 2-3 years, so I am hoping to find a home with a few acres without having to sacrifice an arm and a leg.
Any resources you can point me to would be much appreciated.
I understand the need to start your research, but your questions are almost too broad for us to give you meaningful feedback. There are a lot of small towns and rural areas throughout NC that meet your initial criteria. In searching the NC forum and sub-forums, if any particular locations jump out at you, then by all means ask about them.
In my opinion, the job comes first, then we could give feedback on where the job might be. As for pet-friendliness of rental housing, it all depends on the individual location... no way to make a valid generalization for all of NC.
The coastal areas are more rural and can mostly fit your needs...Vidant controls about 10 hospitals in the East, there are new VA hospital facilities being built in Greenville and Wilmington. Wilmington, Jacksonville and New Bern have their own health networks and Brunswick Co has a new Novant facility....maybe start with the job options and let us know what areas you are considering.
80% of NC by geography is rural, so you'll need a little more narrowing down. And might want to find a job first, then ask about rural areas near the job, because NC is a big state running from mountains to coast, most of it rural. It wouldn't do any good for us to recommend a town in the eastern part of the state if you get a job in the western part.
I think the question is "Where do you want to live? Mountains, Piedmont, or Coast?"
I can tell you places I would not want to live such as Anson, Richmond or Robeson Counties. But you might prefer those counties.
I will recommend you stay on high ground. We are experiencing flooding right now. Top of the hill is always best until you get a lot of thunder storms and then you might want to live in the valley.
If I could start over right now and choose a North Carolina place, I think I would check out the Lake James area. I don't even know why. I just like the sound of it. But remember, high ground with a view, not waterfront.
I'd suggest the areas of the coast containing Pender, Onslow, Craven, Carteret, Cumberland, and Wayne county. All have rural areas, and with the exception of Wayne, Fayetteville in Cumberland and areas of New Bern in Craven are all low in crime. They are also close to military bases and/ore mental health facilities, meaning that you are more likely to find work in your field and the rentals are more open to animals, due to pet ownership being popular among the military.
If you want rural, NC is a good choice. I would suggest maybe Rockingham County. Rockingham County is north of Greensboro (Guilford County) so it's not too far away from a decent sized town but is still a good amount of rural. It's also less than 2 hours away from Raleigh/Durham and Charlotte. I wouldn't suggest looking at areas to the far east or west of the state, these areas are almost "too" rural and are very secluded. Stay in the Piedmont
I have lived in mountains, piedmont,coastal. The mountains are greatly preferable.
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